Muggles Who Notice
by TheVeiledHawk
Summary: A story set in the Harry Potter world. Occurs years after Harry and his kids have left Hogwarts and contains a brand new hero in the form of Hufflepuff Hugo Piers. Guest appearances from a few familiar faces


Muggles Who Notice

 **Prologue**

"Open it." The dark haired senior boy held out a walnut wand to the first year's trembling form. "I know you speak Parseltongue now open it."

The first year looked wearily at his threatener before issuing out a hissing sound similar to that of a snake. The cranking of gears could be heard as the sinks in the girl's bathroom shifted, revealing a large tunnel going down.

"Well go on." The senior gestured to the tunnel with his wand, indicating for the first year to enter.

The terrified first year obliged, jumping down into the darkness below.

He found himself in a large chamber flanked with towering pillars that were entwined with carved wood and at the end, a large stone statue of a bearded man could be seen. Most noteworthy however, was the skeleton of a large serpentine creature found at the base of the statue's feet.

The senior slid down into the chamber and pulled the first year along by his green robes.

The smaller boy cleared his throat, "Is this-"

"The Chamber of Secrets? Yes." The senior finished.

"I thought this was a story. H-How'd you know how to find it?" The first year asked as the senior pulled up to the Basilisk's skeleton.

"Maybe Harry Potter and his friends shouldn't have made their adventures so well known."

The first year had heard stories of the Chamber of Secrets, the supposed place where Harry Potter had defeated a Basilisk and destroyed the first of the Horcruxes. He thought all of it was just an exaggeration of the truth, a story told to make Harry seem even more heroic. Seeing the Chamber firsthand made him wonder whether all the other stories were true also; the Philosopher's Stone, the Triwizard tournament, the time turner.

The senior ripped out one of the remaining fangs of the Basilisk and set his wand down on the wet floor. He pulled out the first year's wand, which he had removed from his possession, and started chanting. The spell starting carving into the fang, hollowing out a small white cylinder.

Once the senior was happy with the thin Basilisk fang tube he had made, he split open his own walnut wand. Next, the senior removed his dragon heartstring wand core and instead placed the thin Basilisk fang piece within the wood.

"Reparo." The senior stated, using the first year's wand to reconstruct his wand with a Basilisk fang core.

The first year took a step back, "W-What are you going to do with that?"

"Don't worry Slytherin, you won't remember a thing." He picked up his new wand and smirked as he pointed it at the green robed boy.

"Obliviate." The Gryffindor incanted.

 **Chapter 1**

"Now as a little bit of a treat before the Christmas holidays class, instead of practicing the protective charm you have all gotten so adept at in our _boring_ classroom, we will be testing your skills firsthand against a senior in the Great Hall!" Professor Hawke cheerily announced to the class of Hufflepuffs standing outside of the oaken doors. They had all been wondering why they were gathered here instead of their usual Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom and all silently groaned as they heard the answer.

Professor Hawke opened the large double doors to reveal the empty spacious chamber that was the Great Hall without any of the house's tables. Standing in the centre was a dark-haired Gryffindor student. The Hufflepuffs filtered into the hall and stood before the senior. "Hello Hufflepuff, you may know me as Alastair Clyde, the Gryffindor prefect. I'm here today because Professor Hawke has kindly asked me to test your skills in the area of protective magic."

As Alastair rambled on about the importance of such charms and their proven usefulness in the Battle of Hogwarts, Ella - a Hufflepuff fourth year - whispered to her friend Hugo. "He's the senior who found Fergus."

Fergus was the predominant topic of conversation at Hogwarts as of late. Firstly, he was found out to be a Parseltongue by his fellow Slytherin cohort. This itself was unusual enough considering there hadn't been a Parseltongue since Harry Potter. But even more mysteriously, he was found that same day in a hallway by the Gryffindor prefect Alastair rambling nonsensically. To make matters even worse, the explanation given by nurse Claremont is that his memory had been irreparably damaged, the likes of which hasn't ever been seen before. All of the teachers have desperately been trying to find the person responsible for such powerful magic, but some people claim they've heard headmaster McOrison saying to the other teachers that even he wouldn't be powerful enough to charm someone so severely.

"Alright who's up first?" Alastair said. Hugo detected a small sense of pride, he didn't know whether it was obnoxiousness or confidence.

"Nobody? Alright line up alphabetically by last name."

The Hufflepuffs did as instructed and all watched as Jasper Argus stood nervously in front of Alastair.

Alastair bowed low and Jasper only gave a short bend in comparison. They both watched each other tensely before Alastair suddenly shot forth his wand yelling, 'Stupefy!"

Jasper barely had time to lift his wand before being thrown backwards through the air almost 5 metres.

"Remember Jasper," Professor Hawke started, "The enemy won't be so polite with their spell selection next time. Be quicker with your defence."

"Ok, next." Alastair requested as he smirked satisfyingly.

Alice Bertha took up her place opposite Alastair Clyde. She managed to flick her wand up but her incantation wasn't quite so quick and she too was thrown backwards by the stunning spell.

This continued through ten more Hufflepuffs and Professor Hawke frowned further with each failed student.

As Professor Hawke drilled into Bryony Leslie, Hugo watched as the boy in front of him, Frederick McConnel, retrieved a folded-up cloak from his robes and pulled it over his body. Hugo recognised this item as a protective cloak, one that would shield its wearer from jinxes and charms.

Frederick casually sauntered over and smirked confidently at Alastair. He gave a pretentious bow and prepared his wand. Alastair once again cast the stunning spell and shot out a jet of scarlet light at Frederick. Frederick lazily flicked his wand up and opened his mouth to utter 'protego' but it was no use; he got thrown through the air just as the others did. His face was one of complete shock as he dusted himself off with all the confidence he could muster before walking off confused and angry.

Hugo with his last name of Piers, strolled up next. He politely bowed and held his wand in a prepared stance. This was Hugo's specialty, deflection and protective spells. If everything goes right, he shouldn't have any trouble deflecting a minor spell such as this.

Time appeared to slow down as Hugo saw Alastair's mouth open and his wand flick forwards. Hugo, as quick as he could, bellowed out "PROTEGO!" The spell was perfect, Hugo would be confident that it would block not just minor spells and jinxes, but most major spells as well.

But strangely, Hugo felt the force of the stunning spell hit him and knock him off his feet. He flew through the air and landed squarely on his back.

"Come on Hugo, you're better than that." Professor Hawke uttered.

Hugo got up confused and walked over to Frederick, "I don't understand, that should have worked."

"Tell me about it, it's the last time I shop from Weasley's Wizard Wheezes." Frederick angrily took off his cloak and slammed it on the ground.

Eventually, the whole class faced off against Alastair. By the end, it was obvious that they were no match for Alastair's proclivity in duelling and, as a result, barely held up their wands in defence. This incited anger in Professor Hawke who ended up taking 100 points off of Hufflepuff for their combined pathetic effort. After his rant about his disappointment in their efforts, he stormed off telling the Hufflepuffs to dismiss themselves and promising that he would drill them ten times harder after the holidays.

Alastair stayed behind, using magic to replace the Great Hall as it was while everyone else silently shuffled out. Before leaving though, Hugo felt something wasn't right. He picked up the protective cloak worn by Frederick.

He wasn't so sure the duel was a fair contest.

 **Chapter 2**

Hugo stood in the large, earthy, round Hufflepuff dormitory. The light from the setting sun spilled onto the hanging plants from the circular windows that gave view to dandelions and rippling grass. The common room was mostly empty asides from a few people sitting in the cosy yellow and black patterned sofas, discussing the interesting new specimens of plants brought in recently by Professor Fleave.

"Come on Ella, just try it, please."

Ella, annoyed at her friend's insistent pleading, stared at Hugo with a look that said 'leave it alone'. Hugo stared back with a wide hopeful smile, his light brown hair tousled messily on his head.

Ella gave a yielding sigh, "Fine." She withdrew her holly wand with a phoenix feather core and pointed it at Hugo. "Stupefy." She incanted.

Hugo felt the energy brush over him like a breeze on a hot summer's day. "I knew it! Alastair was cheating!"

Ella rolled her eyes, "And how did he do that?"

Hugo lifted a finger as if to start an explanation, but lowered it, "That, I don't know. But I do know that this cloak isn't faulty and should have blocked the spell. And my defensive charm should have also worked. It wasn't a fair test."

" _Or_ ," Ella accentuated, "He could have just been so practiced in stunning charms that his spell is able to break through the cloak's defence."

"No, I don't buy it, if he was so powerful, the spell would have knocked us unconscious. Try the spell again. This time I won't wear the cloak and I'll see whether I can block it."

Ella sighed again, "Why does this matter this much to you? You're starting to sound like a Ravenclaw, always blaming others for your failures."

"You don't see Ella, it's not about the fact that I failed. It's the fact that the Gryffindor prefect is cheating. It's the fact that he can't even use fair methods to teach us. What was that supposed to do? Teach us a lesson? I wouldn't be surprised if our class never even tries to use a protective spell again after Alastair so easily showed that it's useless against a powerful wizard."

"Maybe it was to teach us humility?" Ella suggested.

"We're Hufflepuffs, since when have we needed to be taught humility?"

"Fair enough, maybe he was wrong to be so harsh. But it still doesn't mean he cheated."

"Ella, I've practiced that spell so many times that I never fail -"

"Wow, you really are sounding like a Ravenclaw." She teased.

"Yeah, yeah laugh it up," Hugo returned a sly smile, "But I cast the protective charm perfectly against Alastair. There's no way it could have gotten through."

"Really?" Ella started sarcastically, "Well, I know this is impossible to suggest, but what if Hugo Piers the Great was too slow?"

Hugo rolled his eyes, unimpressed. "I'm telling you -"

"Oh fine, whatever." Ella interrupted, "I can't stand anymore of your bloody whinging. Stupefy." She cast the stunning spell once more, almost catching Hugo off guard. His reflexes were too great however, and he managed to flick his wand out and speak the command word, "Protego."

The spell deflected from Hugo shooting it back at a random angle. The bolt struck one of the pots hanging in the common room, causing it to shudder but not tumble.

"Come on Ella, with more passion!"

Her ocean blue eyes rolled up, "Really? Maybe you do need a lesson in humility."

Hugo smiled smugly but not arrogantly. His expression challenged Ella, 'Come on let's see what you're made of." It said.

Ella smiled too, _if that's how it has to be._

"STUPEFY!" She yelled abruptly, conjuring a much brighter and more powerful scarlet bolt than the last two.

Hugo was prepared and countered her attack with the protective spell he was so adept at. The invisible shield formed as usual and blocked the ray, causing it to ricochet off into the direction from which it came.

It struck Ella, causing her to fly violently through the sunlit room. She landed on her back and lay still.

"Ella?" Hugo panicked.

By now, the other Hufflepuffs got out of their seats and looked across the room at the fourth year lying still on the ground.

Hugo's heart sped up tenfold as he raced to Ella's side.

As he got there, her hand holding her Holly wand unexpectedly flicked upwards at Hugo, "LEVICORPUS!" She yelled.

There was a flash of light and then Hugo suddenly felt weightlessness as his ankle was yanked upwards as if by an invisible hook. He hung dangled upside down in midair.

"So you can be beaten." Ella laughed as she brushed a strand of her golden blonde hair out of her eyes.

"That wasn't what I would call a fair move."

Ella feigned sadness, "Awww, it's not fair." She pretended to wipe a tear from her eye. "Maybe, you…" She pushed her finger into Hugo's chest, "Just aren't as quick as you think."

Ella removed her finger and started walking through the tunnel to the girl's dormitory, "Seeya later, Ravenclaw."

"Ella -"

"Liberacorpus." She casually interrupted as she jerked her wand upwards and removed Hugo's jinx.

Hugo fell into a crumpled heap on the ground, but regardless, he couldn't help but smile. He brushed himself off and started towards the boy's dormitory.

There, he prepared for his last day of lessons before the Christmas break where he would return to his parents via the Hogwarts Express. He lay on his bed trying to occupy his thoughts with his return home but his mind kept returning to Alastair. Hugo still felt that something was wrong and he would get to the bottom of it before he left.

 **Chapter 3**

"So I've been thinking," Hugo stated as he took his place next to Ella at the Hufflepuff House table, "It's all too convenient."

"What?" Ella's voice was muffled as she shovelled oats into her mouth.

"Alastair. I mean, Fergus is revealed as a Parseltongue and that night is found by Alastair with his memory wiped. That's pretty suspicious to me."

"He said he was going to the prefect's bathrooms."

"At Two O'Clock in the morning? I think there's more to this."

"I thought we sorted this out last night. He's more powerful than your stupid shield charm. There's nothing else to him." Ella looked hastily at her silver watch, "Oh bollocks, I'm already late for potion's class." She quickly dabbed her mouth on a napkin and hopped over the bench. "By the way, you're starting to sound like a muggle conspiracy theorist. You'd better start wearing a tinfoil hat or else the government will track your thoughts." She winked as she cast a roguish smile "Catch ya later Ravenclaw."

"Really? Still with the Ravenclaw title?" Hugo called out to her as she turned her back on him and left him sitting alone.

Hugo picked up her half full leftover oats and started eating. Surprisingly, he didn't receive any deliveries today. Most days Hugo gets at least one letter from his family telling him all they're doing at the moment and asking how he is.

Instead, to occupy his free period, he saw someone had left a copy of their Daily Prophet behind, so he decided to muse over the biggest stories. It must have been a slow news day, as there was nothing of importance Hugo found. He did find one opinion piece on the intelligence of muggles humorous though. Some woman named Teresa Ford wrote about how she had heard that the muggle's current technology is able to send communications to someone across the globe instantly. Hugo laughed at her naivety, how had she not heard of telephones until now? She then wrote that if what she had heard was true then it would only be a matter of time before the magic world was revealed.

Hugo found reason within her words, even if muggles don't discover magic, technology may become so advanced that it would eventually surpass its power. Hugo's parents were both muggles and so he grew up surrounded by 'muggle trinkets' as Hogwarts would put it. When he discovered his magical abilities and received the Hogwarts letter, he was ecstatic. He found magic amazing, wondrous and awe inspiring, but he couldn't help but think that muggles were far more advanced. He missed the internet while he was at Hogwarts and cherished the few weeks he would get at Christmas and summer break when he could find the answer to any question with a keyword search instead of pilfering through dusty volumes of doorstoppers at Hogwarts.

He thought that the magic world could learn a lot from muggles. Most people at Hogwarts think them mindless animals but hardly anyone does enough research to find out that they sent men to the moon. And that was over fifty years ago.

Hugo appreciated the art of magic and its applications, but he saw wasted potential. One of the only jobs available to wizards after finishing school was to work for the Ministry of Magic. Their major purpose being to prevent muggles from finding out about the magic world. What if they applied their skills to helping people? Not just other witches and wizards, but anyone. The world would be much better for it. Instead, they insist that the two worlds need to stay separate, as if muggles were a completely different species.

That's why Hugo decided to specialise in protective spells so he could defend himself in a fight without using violence. Once he finished his schooling at Hogwarts, he would re-enter the muggle's world and get a job that contributed to society and ultimately make the world a better place.

"Hugo." Frederick shook Hugo from his day dreaming, "We've got charms, come on."

Hugo realised that he had spent his entire free period browsing the newspaper and pondering the state of the magic and muggle world. He got up from his seat and followed Frederick.

As he exited the Great Hall, he glanced to the left and saw Alastair suspiciously break from his other Gryffindor seniors and enter a hallway. Hugo stopped dead in his tracks as he watched Alastair stroll quickly through the corridor.

"You coming?" Frederick asked as he started climbing the Grand Staircase.

"I'll be right there, I forgot my books." Hugo quickly bluffed and started down the same corridor as Alastair.

 **Chapter 4**

Hugo trailed Alastair through the labyrinth corridors of Hogwarts. He tried staying far enough away as to not alert Alastair of his presence but close enough to follow accurately.

As Alastair continued, his pace quickened. He darted hastily around a corner causing Hugo to break into a jog to successfully track him.

He hurriedly turned the same corner.

"Incarcerous!" A voice yelled.

With lightening fast reflexes, Hugo managed to withdraw his wand and fire back, "Protego!"

The shield was conjured in the line of sight of the spell, but it managed the penetrate the barrier just like in Defence Against the Dark Arts class.

Hugo felt a thick rope wrap itself instantaneously around his body as he dropped his wand. He collapsed onto the ground face forward and felt the ropes coiling tightly around his arms, legs and torso, securely binding him. He felt a foot roughly kick him in the stomach, forcing him over.

Alastair kept his foot on Hugo's chest as he stared coldly down at him.

"Why were you following me?" His expression stayed impassive.

"I was just making it to my class." Hugo quickly lied.

Alastair sighed as he flicked his dark wand. It crackled with wild, green energy. The ropes suddenly tightened themselves around his form, burning his skin as they slithered across.

Alastair kept the same expression as he lowered his face to be mere inches from his and pointed his wand under Hugo's chin.

Not a word was said for what seemed like an eternity.

Finally through gritted teeth, Alastair muttered, "Why. Were. You. Following. Me?"

 _Time for another tactic._ Hugo thought.

"How did you break my protective spell?"

Alastair's expressionless face suddenly twisted into the same self-satisfied smirk he gave in duelling.

"Good try, but I can see this isn't leading anywhere."

Hugo was helpless as Alastair pulled back his wand, "Obliv -"

"NOOOOO! You will not harm another student!" Hugo heard a shrieking girl's voice coming from his right.

 _Thank Merlin!_

Alastair took his wand and foot off Hugo and fired at the new threat. The bolts issued out by Alastair's wand had an almost uncontrollable nature to them as green lightening forked off into random directions from the main arc.

The ropes stopped tightening around his body, allowing him to slacken them a little by wriggling his arms. He took this opportunity to fish around on the floor for his wand. He grasped at it with his bound hands, "Emacipare!" The ropes instantly loosened their hold on Hugo's body and he was free to move his body.

He saw his saviour: A pale translucent young girl with glasses and a ponytail flew at Alastair dodging his spells. Hugo recognised this ghost as Moaning Myrtle, the Ravenclaw girl murdered by Tom Riddle's Basilisk. She shrieked as she floated swiftly through the air towards Alastair.

"OBLIVIATE!" Alastair raged and blasted out a massive ball of energy from his wand. It struck Moaning Myrtle, knocking her backwards through the air.

Hugo had never seen a ghost get hit by a spell before and hadn't thought it possible. Now he was starting to believe Ella underestimated how powerful Alastair was.

"Expelliarmus!" Hugo uttered the first spell that came to him. It took Alastair by surprise as his wand was expelled from his hand and thrown towards Hugo.

Hugo didn't get a chance to see Alastair's reaction as he sprinted back the way he came. He shot through the corridors as fast as he could and hoped he had enough distance between him and his assailant.

"Stupefy! Fulgari! Brachiabindo!" Alastair fired jets of green lightening at Hugo, each time missing him by a fraction of inch as he zig-zagged through the hallways.

Hugo shouted out for help as he ran, but no teachers or students were in sight.

But then he saw the Grand Staircase.

 _Finally!_

Hugo made it to the steps and bound them four at a time. He just needed to make it to a classroom and he would be safe.

"Petrificus Totalus!" Hugo felt the impact of the full body-bind curse as all of his muscles locked into a rigid position. He fell backwards onto the stairs and was helpless as he heard the heavy stomps of Alastair making it up the stairs.

 _No, Not now!_

Hugo awaited his fate as he prepared to hear the incantation of the memory charm.

But he did not hear Alastair's voice, but rather the rumbling of the staircase as it changed orientation. He felt the stone stairs shift under him, moving him safely away from Alastair's attacks. It was almost as if the staircase saved him intentionally.

If he could, he would have sighed relief. He was safe… for now.

 **Chapter 5**

Hugo stood alone in the headmaster's office. Professor McOrison left him here while he went to retrieve the other teachers. Hugo had never been in this room and found it very interesting. It was a large and beautiful circular room, full of funny little noises. A number of curious silver instruments stood on spindle-legged tables, whirring and emitting little puffs of was also an enormous claw-footed desk, and, sitting on a shelf behind it, a shabby, tainted wizard's hat — the Sorting Hat. The walls were covered with portraits of old headmasters and headmistresses.

All slept but one – a tall, thin man with a silver beard long enough to tuck into his belt. His blue eyes were light, bright, and sparkling behind half-moon spectacles and his nose was very long and crooked, as though it had been broken at least twice. Beneath the portrait read 'Professor Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore'.

"Hello there Hugo, it's very nice to finally meet you." Dumbledore spoke kindly through a gentle smile.

"You know who I am?" Hugo was taken aback that one of the most powerful wizards – the one who fought Grindelwald and Voldemort mind you – knew Hugo.

"I make it an effort to learn who every student at Hogwarts is. Now what brings a kind young man such as yourself to the headmaster's office?"

Hugo then recounted the events of the last days. He told Dumbledore what he told Professor McOrison: The duel and Alastair's ability to penetrate protective spells, his suspicions of Alastair and then following him and being attacked. He told of his lucky escape by the Grand Staircase and Professor Hawke finding and releasing him of his curse. Hugo then warned of Alastair and his attack on Moaning Myrtle to Professor Hawke who then relayed it to Professor McOrison.

"I think I made a mistake." Hugo said regrettably.

"How so?" Dumbledore said with an unassuming tone.

"I selfishly confronted Alastair alone. Not only did I risk my life but I think I caused Myrtle to lose her memory."

"My boy, you caused nothing of the kind. You were but helpless to defend Myrtle. And how were you to know his spells could affect a ghost? Do not keep doubting yourself. Be strong, be confident, and most importantly, be kind. They are the makings of a hero." Dumbledore smiled reassuringly. Hugo could see why many idolise the late wizard, not just for his intelligence and skills, but for his kindness. "You may have heard the phrase: 'help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it.'" Hugo had indeed heard that saying given at the beginning of every school year by Professor McOrison. "Well, you will actually find that it is not to those who ask, but rather, help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who deserve it."

Dumbledore winked at Hugo as the doors to the headmaster's office opened. All of the teachers gathered before Hugo, from Professor Hawke of Defence Against the Dark Arts to Professor Longbottom of Herbology.

Hugo turned back to face Dumbledore's portrait, but found him sleeping in his frame.

"Hugo, can you tell us exactly what Myrtle said before Alastair hit her with his spell?" Professor McOrison asked immediately in a tone that suggested that he was not entirely in control of the situation.

"She said 'you will not harm another student.'" Professor McOrison nodded worryingly.

"And you say he tried to use 'obliviate' on you and successfully hit Myrtle."

"Yes… Wait, how is Myrtle?"

"She wasn't affected as much as Fergus was. She still remembers who she is. But we think she lost at the least the last five years in memory as she doesn't recognise me."

"Wait," Professor Hawke chipped in, "You're saying Alastair wiped Fergus's memory?" Everyone looked at him with identical expressions on their faces. They hardly needed it spelled out.

"It doesn't make any sense. Why would Alastair attack Fergus of all people? And how is he so powerful? And what does Myrtle have to do with this?" McOrison stroked his auburn beard as he tried piecing the mystery together.

"I have a theory." Professor Longbottom contributed. "I think the Chamber of Secrets was opened again."

"What gave you that idea?" Professor Hawke looked flabbergasted.

"Fergus was a Parselmouth. This is required to open the Chamber in the girl's bathroom in which Myrtle haunts. What I believe occurred is that Alastair forced him to open it and later removed his memory of all that transpired Myrtle saw what happened and then tried defending Hugo."

"How do you know so much about the Chamber of Secrets?" Professor Hawke looked even more confused than before.

"Harry told me."

"Ha! What, you don't mean Harry Potter!" Hawke laughed sarcastically.

Silence prevailed as Professor Longbottom stared at Professor Hawke. "Yes. Yes, I do."

"Wh- um – you've met? – oh – uh - ok."

"Alright." McOrison started, "That still doesn't explain what he was doing there. What could he want in the Chamber. Regardless, we have a lead. Every student was checked when they entered the dormitory. He should be the only one left roaming the halls. Split up and search for him."

The teachers broke off and exited the room. As they did, Hugo heard Professor Longbottom talk of checking the room of requirement.

The only people left in the room were Hugo and Professor McOrison.

"Have you ever heard of a pensieve, Hugo?"

 **Chapter 6**

Hugo dipped his face gently into the swirling liquid or gas – he was unsure what state the contents of the stone bowl were. Professor McOrison moments before had removed a thin silvery strand from Hugo's mind. This was then placed into the bowl and Hugo was told to submerge his head.

The mass of clouds suddenly coagulated before him, creating shapes and figures. He saw himself from an outside perspective as he followed Alastair down the hallway. He witnessed the attack by Alastair and saw himself produce a shield. Clear as day, Hugo saw the shield get shattered by the oncoming jet from Alastair's wand.

He was bound in ropes and heard Alastair asking why Hugo was following. Unfortunately, Alastair did not reveal the source of his power. This time Hugo knew where to look and saw Myrtle exit the girl's bathroom. She screamed just as Alastair was going to wipe Hugo's memory. He realised only now how fortunate he was to escape this scenario.

Alastair's wand once again produced green corrupted energy that struck Myrtle. Hugo had never seen energy like that and wondered how powerful Alastair was to conjure such raw magic. Hugo saw his memory self struggle for his wand, release his binds and disarm Alastair.

Alastair's face went wide as the wand hit the floor. He scrambled and took more care than was necessary to pick up the wand. This gave Hugo the opening he needed to escape as he sprinted away. Alastair wasn't far away as he fired upon Hugo.

Hugo saw himself running in erratic patterns and only now witnessed how close some of the strikes were to hitting him. He made it to the stairs and saw Alastair stop in his tracks. He took his time lining up a shot and struck Hugo.

Alastair's face went red with rage as he saw the staircase move Hugo to a safe location. He tried lining up a shot again but saw that Hugo was entirely concealed. He placed his wand back in his cloak before glancing around and continuing back down the hallway he came from.

Just then, the memory dissolved into a swirl of colours as Hugo was ejected from the pensieve.

"Did you learn anything?" Professor McOrison asked.

"Not much, only that he got angry after I escaped and continued back down the same corridor he originally entered. But that doesn't really help, he could be anywhere by now."

Professor McOrison nodded. "Do you mind if I have a viewing of your memory?"

"Go ahead. We need to find him before he harms anyone else."

McOrison smiled and nodded once more in thanks before gently submerging his head in the rune inscribed stone basin.

"Hmmm. I remember you Hugo Piers." Hugo spun around to find the Sorting Hat sitting on it's stand. A tear along the brim opened like a mouth as he spoke to Hugo. "You were one of the toughest students I've ever had to sort."

Hugo remembered the sorting ceremony where he was declared a Hatstall – one who's sorting took longer than five minutes.

"You're the first student in centuries I considered for all four houses. The bravery and determination of a Gryffindor, the intelligence and affinity for studies of a Ravenclaw and the ambition and resourcefulness of a Slytherin."

"Why did you put me in Hufflepuff then?"

"Because, it all comes back to your kindness. I made the right decision by placing you in Hufflepuff, an environment which most enables you to reach your potential in making the world a better place. You see Hugo, you may have traits of the other houses, but you draw from them to help you help others."

"I'm hardly the saint you make me out to be."

The Sorting Hat chuckled softly, "Modesty, a most defining trait of Hufflepuff."

"Alright, if you're so perfect in your sorting, why was Alastair Clyde placed in Gryffindor and not Slytherin then?"

The Sorting Hat gasped as if Hugo said the most offensive thing to it.

"I suppose all Slytherins are evil now are they? Just forget about Merlin, and Severus Snape, even Harry Potter's own son was placed in Slytherin. As for Gryffindor, Alastair Clyde can still display the traits of the house and be immoral. He's courageous, determined, daring and he's chivalrous when he wants to be. If you must know I did detect some self-righteousness and arrogance in him – not uncommon in Gryffindors actually – and this most likely led him down the dark path."

"Thanks…uh…. sorry for questioning your abilities."

"Hmph." The Sorting Hat replied rather coldly, ending the conversation.

Just then, a large intake of breath could be heard as Professor McOrison removed his face from the pensieve.

"Hmm, I'm still not sure what to make of it all."

 _That makes two of us._ Hugo thought.

"The only thing I can make of it, is that he has an affinity for memory charms. He would rather wipe your memory than harm you. Why is that?" McOrison started pacing the headmaster's office while he stroked his hairy chin in thought.

He strolled around the room for what must have been almost ten minutes, every now and again mumbling something to himself. Finally, Hugo grew tired of sitting around.

"Professor McOrison," the professor looked startled, as if he forgot Hugo was in the room. "I have a question about extracting memories."

Before Professor McOrison could answer, the doors to the office were shoved carelessly open. Professor Hawke had his hands on his knees as he panted at the doorway.

"We found him." He said through deep breaths, "We found Alastair."

Professor McOrison let out a deep breath, indicating that he was glad the ordeal was over. "And, what happened? Is he incapacitated?"

"Um… That's just it, professor… He's dead."

 **Chapter 7**

Hugo tapped the barrel two from the bottom, middle of the second row, in the rhythm of 'Helga Hufflepuff.' The lid swung open and exposed a passageway to enter. Hugo crawled in and made it into the comfortable Hufflepuff common room.

He was greeted with one hundred faces, all of them bombarding him with their questions.

"What happened?"

"Is someone attacking the school?"

"Why were we evacuated?"

He hadn't time to answer their curiosities as a figure started pushing their way through the crowd of impertinent Hufflepuffs. He smiled as he recognised the head of vibrant blonde hair bobbing above the crowd. Hugo prepared for his verbal sparring match between him and Ella, but as she made her way to the front there was no witty remark. Instead, Ella flung her arms around Hugo in a tight embrace. Hugo stood motionless for a moment before he too wrapped his arms around her.

Her hair smelt lightly of sunflowers and lavender reminding Hugo of comfort, relaxation and warmth.

Hugo had never been this close to Ella physically, and it seemed to invoke a feeling inside that he didn't know he had.

They both pulled out of the embrace and locked eyes. Hugo forgot about the whole world around him as her stared into her tranquil, ocean blue eyes. Hugo was as sure as he was of him standing there that if he stayed transfixed for a moment longer, he would have kissed her and all his worries would have disappeared.

But that is not what happened. Instead, one of the gathered Hufflepuff students cleared their throat and brought them both back to reality. Ella removed her hands from Hugo causing him to do the same. The tiniest flash of awkwardness before Ella returned to her usual self. She cracked a roguish smile and punched Hugo lightly in the arm.

"Where have you been?"

"That's a long story." Hugo not only addressed Ella but the whole cohort of Hufflepuffs in the common room. "I think it would be better if you heard it from Professor McOrison, he's going to explain everything in the Great Hall."

The whole school was gathered in the Great Hall, each house seated at their respective tables. There were only two students missing from the assembly – Fergus and Alastair.

The Hall rumbled with the insistent chatting of the students. Every person seemed to have a unique theory on what occurred, but every one was as far from the truth as the next. Hugo's favourite was that Alastair had gotten lost in a vanishing cabinet.

Professor McOrison eventually rose from his throne-like chair at the centre of the High Table once all the students had been seated. He stood before the podium and gestured for silence. It took perhaps one minute of continuous chatting before McOrison raised his wand to his cheek. What followed was a voice high, cold and clear: There was no telling where it came from; it seemed to issue from the walls themselves.

"SILENCE!"

Not even a shuffling of a chair interrupted the complete absence of noise.

Professor McOrison started his speech in his ordinary voice now that he had gained the attention of the students.

"I regret to inform you all that this morning there had been an attack on a Hufflepuff student by one of Hogwarts very own." All of Hufflepuff table turned their eyes to Hugo attracting even more eyes from the other houses. Ella's eyes widened as did her mouth as she looked worryingly upon her friend.

"We have reason to believe that this attacker was the person behind the tampering of Fergus' mind." Everyone sat on the edge of their seats and Hugo swore he heard a Hufflepuff mutter,

"Just tell us who it is."

McOrison continued, "This wizard was undeniably powerful, perhaps even more so than I, proving to overcome protective barriers as easily as if there was none. They had even been able to strike the ghost of Myrtle Warren, whom has now lost a portion of her memories."

The Hufflepuffs in Hugo's Defence Against the Dark Arts class started to piece the clues together and began whispering the name of Alastair to each other.

"I will not name who got attacked, but they are fortunately safe. However, it is my duty to inform of the consequences of the attack." McOrison took in a deep breath. "The assailant later claimed their own life after the assault."

Hugo had never witnessed such a synchronised intake of breath between so many people before.

"The assailant was," McOrison swallowed, "Alastair Clyde of Gryffindor."

If Hugo thought the silence before was impressive, this was deafening. There was an utter, complete lack of any reaction for half a minute before it sunk in.

Suddenly the students all started whispering to each other, then they got loud. Most were shocked, some were grieving, others were angry – at his death or the attack, Hugo was unsure – and a select few that Hugo could see – all from Slytherin – seemed happy. Hugo wasn't sure how he felt, he certainly did not empathise with Alastair and the atrocities he was willing to commit, but seeing those at Gryffindor table mourning the loss reminded Hugo of the impact one's death has upon their friends. Still, no sadness bubbled to the surface, perhaps it was the fact that Alastair was willing to, and nearly did, reduce Hugo to a vegetative state.

The burning question of why Alastair did what he did and why he needed the Chamber of Secrets was still plaguing Hugo's mind. There was more to this mystery, Hugo was sure of that, but looking across at Ella and her disarming smile made Hugo aware that none of it mattered now. He was glad it was over and he had only the future to look forward to.

 **Chapter 8**

"There's no way you talked to Dumbledore." Ella said as she walked with Hugo to the Hogwarts Express.

"Yep. And he knew my name as well." Hugo said in a self-satisfied voice.

"Ok, no one's doubting your story telling skills, evident by the way all of Hufflepuff seemed to gobble up your adventure as you told it to them last night.

"But let me get this straight: You were not only right about Fergus and Alastair but you got attacked by him, escaped with the help of Myrtle and the Grand Staircase, got rescued and brought to McOrison's office where you talked to Dumbledore's portrait, got to use a pensieve and then pissed off the Sorting Hat."

"You forgot the part when Professor Longbottom revealed that the Chamber of Secrets had been opened up again."

"Of course," Ella said sarcastically, "The bloody Chamber of Secrets."

"You don't believe me, do you?" Hugo laughed while he said it, there was a rather fantastical nature to the events that he never thought he would experience.

"Honestly? I don't even know. We know you're telling the truth about the attack, whether or not the rest of the story holds up? I'll have to ask Dumbledore myself." She too laughed.

Suddenly the conversation was interrupted by an oncoming Slytherin.

"Hey blonde girl!" Hugo didn't recognise the curly brown-haired boy marching over. He looked young though, maybe one or two years below Hugo or Ella.

Ella rolled her eyes, "Here we go." She muttered.

"Are you leaving Hogwarts for Christmas?" He asked rather bluntly.

"No, I am not." Ella replied.

The Slytherin's face lit up like Christmas had come one week early. "Oh, uh… Why are you heading to the train then?"

"I'm seeing my friend off. What was your name again?" Ella was clearly not engaged in the conversation.

"Oh yeah, uh Kenny. Um, so if you're free, I, uh, I mean… you wanna…"

Ella rolled her eyes yet again. "Let me finish that for you: You want to ask me whether I would like to spend my Christmas holidays with you." Ella then raised her eyebrows trying to elicit a response from the Slytherin.

"Well yeah, that was where I was going." He replied somewhat sheepishly, then quite quickly, "I can sneak you into the Slytherin dorm if you want."

Hugo felt bad for the guy, he really was trying. Ella had to suppress a laugh as she replied, "I'd rather not spend my Christmas in a dungeon thank you."

"Oh um… What about your dorm? Hufflepuff? We could spend time there. Or we could find a spot somewhere else."

Ella gave him a pitying look, "Do you even know my name?"

"Well… I know who you are. Me and my friends put in bets for who could get a date with you and you rejected every one of us."

Hugo's eyes went wide, he was not expecting that. Ella was silent for a moment before she erupted in laughter throwing her head back.

The Slytherin named Kenny couldn't take a hint and kept trying though, "It's just, you're the hottest girl in school, you could have anyone you want."

Ella, still laughing, replied, "And… you're the one I want?"

Kenny, finally sensing her disinterest, lowered his head and mumbled, "You could try, you know."

"Kenny," Ella held her hand over her mouth to contain the laughter that still threatened to spew out. "A-plus for effort, really. It's just… you came off too strong, next time don't act so desperate. And also don't tell them that the reason you asked them out was for a bet."

"Oh, so if I did that you would have said yes?" His face was hopeful.

Hugo saw Ella for the first time in his life struggling for words. "You know what? Sure… I would have said yes." Hugo could see her pitiful lie a mile off, but it seemed good enough for the desperate Slytherin who walked off with a spring in his step.

"Quick your true love's getting away!" Hugo jokingly said to Ella.

"You're never going to forget that, are you?" Hugo smiled as he shook his head, "One small white lie as an act of kindness and this is what I get? Mockery!" Ella said in a comical voice.

They both laughed as they made their way to the train. As they got there, a Ravenclaw roughly brushed past Hugo and stormed into the Hogwarts Express.

"Hey! Watch it there pal!" Ella shouted back at the blue robed student.

One of the other Ravenclaws boarding looked surprised, "I thought you were staying, Henry?"

"Change of plan." Was all he said.

"Bloody Ravenclaws." Ella said to Hugo.

"Well, this is where I leave you apparently." Hugo stood before the brilliant, scarlet steam train.

"You could still stay you know." Ella said. Hugo felt the same tension he experienced in the common room. He looked around, he was the last one to board, they were alone. He had the extreme desire to act on his sudden urges and embrace Ella. But something in his mind held him back. It was Kenny, the Slytherin boy. Hugo was overcome with a small fear of coming off as desperate just as he was. It would ruin their friendship and he would never be able to speak to her again without thinking about his failings.

So instead, he put on a smile and said, "You'll survive, you can spend Christmas in the Slytherin dorm with Kenny."

"Ha ha, Ravenclaw." She replied in her sarcastic way.

With that he turned around and stepped onto the Hogwarts Express.

 **Chapter 9**

Hugo wondered idly whether he should have stayed at Hogwarts while he sat alone in a train compartment. All of his friends and most of Hufflepuff were staying over for the holidays, leaving Hugo with only his family's company for the next few weeks. This wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but he wished he didn't have to decide between one or the other.

The Hogwarts Express eventually chugged to a stop, indicating their arrival.

Hugo stepped off of the scarlet train and onto Platform 9 Nine and Three-Quarters. Some parents eagerly embraced their children in an open hug while other students disappeared through the apparently solid metal ticket box to appear back in the muggle world. Hugo followed closely behind, feeling a slight fuzzy sensation as he easily slipped through the illusionary veil between Platform 9 and 10 of King's Cross Station.

As Hugo began the short fifteen-minute walk to his house, he spotted the Ravenclaw named Henry again. He didn't look well; his skin was pale and his long brown hair appeared to be thinning. He rushed past all of the other students knocking whoever got in the way. Stranger still, as his jacket flapped open for the briefest of moments, Hugo caught the glow of green, wild energy emanating from his dark wand tucked in the pocket. There was only one other wand he had seen that acted like that before – Alastair's

Hugo steadied his steamy breath in the morning chill. He tried blending into the muggle crowds of London streets as he kept his eyes on the mysterious Ravenclaw with the wand like Alastair's. He had learned his lesson from following someone too eagerly and instead acted as inconspicuously and naturally as possible.

The Ravenclaw stopped at an apartment building and barged right in.

Hugo broke from the crowd and made his way to the same apartment building. He twisted the door knob but found it locked from the inside. Hugo knew the easy method of entering involved the use of magic but, since Hugo was not of age, he still had the trace on him meaning that the Ministry of Magic would be alerted. A small act like that, he was warned, could get him expelled from Hogwarts.

So instead he darted around the building and found an old metal fire escape staircase attached to the side. He immediately began scrambling up searching for a way in.

On the third floor of the building, Hugo spotted an open window next to the fire escape, it would only require a small amount of climbing to get to it. Hugo hated having to resort to breaking into someone's apartment to get to the bottom of this mystery, but he found no other alternative that wouldn't result in incarceration by the Ministry.

Hugo held onto any hand hold he could find while he awkwardly shuffled to the window. Next, he dropped his feet inside the window. Slowly and as quietly as he could, he slid the rest of his body in. He found himself in the kitchen of the apartment and proceeded to tiptoe to the door.

He was soon out of the apartment and safely within the hallway filled with identical doors only distinguishable by the unique number on their front. Hugo took a quick glance at the elevator and saw it moving upwards until it stopped at level 7.

Hugo made a split-second judgement and determined that it was most likely the Ravenclaw in the elevator. He had seen no other person enter the apartment building and the vast majority of muggles would have left for work already.

Hugo made for the stairs and sprinted up, hoping desperately to catch the Ravenclaw. He got to the required floor and found the hallway was designed identically to the other floors.

Hugo heard the distinct sound of a door opening as he made it out of the stairwell. No time to rest, Hugo made his way around the floor. On the side of the hallway, Hugo found what he was looking for. He saw the Ravenclaw standing before room 734. But he didn't look right, his skin was bubbling and morphing into something else.

Just then Hugo let out an audible gasp as all was revealed to him. He hastily ducked around the corner as the Ravenclaw turned towards the noise. But it wasn't a Ravenclaw at all.

Instead, a dark-haired Gryffindor senior looked about the hallway. Satisfied that the sound was of no consequence, Alastair Clyde stepped into room 734 and closed it behind him.

 **Chapter 10**

Hugo tried grasping the gravity of the situation. Alastair had escaped from Hogwarts by clever deceit and what Hugo guessed was use of a Polyjuice potion to disguise himself as another student. And he was the only person who knew about it.

 _From one problem to the next._ Hugo suddenly found McOrison's comment ringing true.

Of course, he had the option of leaving and letting someone else deal with the problem. But for Hugo, that was never a consideration. Even if he was no match magically for Alastair, he needed to try. He would not stand by when he has the opportunity to save others. Hugo thought on what the Sorting Hat had said, in that he draws from the traits of all houses to help him in his mission to help others.

So, with the bravery of a Gryffindor, Hugo walked over to room 734. With the wisdom of a Ravenclaw, he knew it would be foolish to confront Alastair directly. As a result, with the resourcefulness of a Slytherin, Hugo retrieved from his jacket a set of Extendable Ears. They were given to him by Frederick as a Christmas present. At this moment, Hugo was so glad Frederick did all of his shopping at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. He inserted one end of the long, flesh coloured piece of string into his ear. The other end he shoved under the door.

As clear as if he was right in the room, Hugo heard the voice of Alastair and another man. There seemed to be a struggle before the man tried to scream for help.

"Silencio." Alastair muttered, cutting off the man's plea.

"You appear frightened. This isn't your first experience of magic is it? Does Abraham Clyde ring a bell?" There was a pause. "Oh, so you haven't heard of him. Maybe your memory needs jogging. Crucio." Hugo had never heard anyone use one of the unforgivable curses before and felt revolted as he heard the squirming and struggle of the man behind the door. There was no doubt in Hugo's mind that the man was trying to scream but couldn't.

"Alright, how about now? Do you remember Abraham Clyde?!" Alastair's voice audibly broke as he asked the last question.

"Oh, so you do remember. How you witnessed his abilities. How you tracked him down. And how you murdered him for his gifts." There was such contempt in Alastair's voice.

"You probably thought you could escape justice. After all, the only witness was his five-year-old son."

There was another pause. "You're just figuring it out now, aren't you? You ruined my whole life. I grew up without a father because of the bigotry of an OLD FAT MAN!" Alastair sounded borderline psychotic. He took a deep breath. "Well I suppose it doesn't matter now. AVADA KEDAVRA!"

Hugo made another split-second decision and burst into the room.

But he was too late. The body of an overweight old man slumped lifeless on the ground.

Alastair turned to him. His wand was crackling more powerfully than ever, reflecting the twisted, madness in Alastair's eyes. "You."

"Alastair, you have to turn yourself in." Hugo stood strong in the face of the madman.

Alastair's whole body trembled. "He MURDERED my father!"

"But what you did wasn't justice. You don't solve violence with more violence. That man should have stood trial for his crimes, you didn't have to commit any yourself."

"YOU KNOW NOTHING OF WHAT I'VE BEEN THROUGH!"

"I understand that, but what about wiping Fergus' mind, and Myrtle's and trying to do the same to me? Was that just?"

"I could have killed them, but I didn't! They will survive and make new memories if they have to They knew too much, as do you. OBLIVIATE!"

Hugo was prepared for this attack and instead of trying his luck with a protective spell, he jerked his head to the side as the bolt of erratic, green electricity missed his head by mere inches. Wasting no time, Hugo grabbed hold of the wooden door and jerked it in front of his body protecting him from further harm.

"BOMBARDA!" Another green bolt fired from Alastair's wand. It struck the wooden door and exploded upon impact. Hugo flew backwards through the air into the hallway while the door was reduced to broken pieces of wood. Hugo still held onto the door knob that held a plank of splintered oak. He took off with the small piece of the door finding the stairwell and running down. Alastair followed behind, firing bolts of various spells at Hugo just like in the halls of Hogwarts.

He got to the foyer and tried for the door but still found it locked. Hugo took a quick survey of his surroundings but found this to be the only exit. Hugo ran to the second stairwell but stopped as Alastair fired a warning shot in front of Hugo.

Alastair was not looking well, he appeared gaunt and his eyes bloodshot, but still wickedly smiled as he found Hugo trapped.

"STUPEFY!"

Hugo raised the plank of wood that was once a door in front of the oncoming spell. No matter how powerful a wizard is, they cannot penetrate a solid object to affect something behind it. The plank shattered into small splinters but the spell rebounded and shattered a window by the door.

Hugo took this opportunity to dart towards the now open exit. He jumped as best he could through the large opening but received many cuts as fragments of glass tore through his clothes and bit into his skin.

He landed on a soft pile of snow which seemed to numb the pain.

Hugo needed more help and there was only one place he was aware of that contained wizards at this time – King's Cross Station. All he needed to do was get through the illusionary ticket box and find someone who could help.

Luckily it was not far from where he was and with the adrenaline kicking through his body, he guessed that he could make it there in under ten minutes.

So, he ran. He made sure Alastair followed, if he lost him now he didn't know whether anyone would ever find him. He managed to escape the security of Hogwarts, what he would be capable of in the muggle world is hard to imagine.

Alastair was far enough away that his spells didn't strike true against Hugo. Looking back though, he found Alastair gaining distance between them. He had never run this hard before and his body threatened to give up. But there it was. King's Cross was in sight and with renewed vigour, Hugo made it onto platform 1. His mind was hopeful, but his body couldn't take much more.

He passed platform 2. The stitch in his side pulsed as if one of his organs would burst from his side.

Platform 3. He had slowed down to a jog as he desperately willed his legs to move faster.

Platform 4. He saw a train pull up to platform 5 and a whole group of muggle passengers exited.

 _No! Not now._

He shouted at them to move out of the way but they merely acted confused. Hugo tried to push past them, but it gave Alastair the time he needed to hit Hugo. Hugo felt his legs suddenly lock up as he was running, causing him to violently trip and smack his head against the hard-concrete floor. His nose bled and was most likely broken by the impact but he had no time to worry about that.

The muggles scattered and ran, but Alastair didn't allow them to escape. He fired upon the muggles, binding them just as he bound Hugo.

 **Chapter 11**

Hugo flipped himself over and saw the horror of the situation. Green light sparkled around Alastair's form in all directions deflecting the bullets the police fired upon him.

"LOOK AT THEM!" Alastair addressed Hugo, "They try to kill anything that frightens them! Witness their brutality!" Alastair stunned the police officers, knocking them backwards far more than usually capable.

A few muggles hid behind a pillar as one held their phone in trembling hands, filming the violence. This was his fault and needed to fix it. He pulled himself up with difficulty as his legs were still locked in a rigid position.

He hopped over to the pillar, "Come with me, quick!"

Perhaps it is an intrinsic part of basic human nature to follow the greatest leader in times of crisis or perhaps they were in no position to argue. Regardless, they held no objection as they followed behind Hugo's hobbling form.

"You still try to help them, when their true nature is displayed right in front of you?! STUPEFY!" Hugo, once again felt the impact of the electric energy as it smashed into him and sent him flying.

Some of the muggles ran but some rushed to Hugo's aid. "What are you?" One of them said in a trembling voice.

"I am justice."

"How can you say that when you attack a child?!" The muggle man stood strong before Alastair.

"Don't worry, I would never murder a magic born. But as for muggles? You despise me. You make war with yourselves, you murder innocents all because you're afraid of what might happen. I only wish it didn't take the death of my father to realise that."

"What do you want from us?!" The man still stood his ground.

"For too long the Wizarding world has hidden itself from muggles. Why should we be the one's cowering before you? We should be running the world! Instead we sit back and let muggles think themselves superior. No longer. I have learned everything I need at Hogwarts and have become more powerful than any wizard before me! With this, I am impervious to harm!"

Hugo was shocked in the similarities between his views and Alastair's. He too agrees that the Wizarding world should no longer stay hidden and even studied at Hogwarts for the same reason – to protect himself. The difference though is that Hugo did not wish to topple the muggle empire, but rather hoped for peace between the worlds. He also did not use his magical knowledge to inflict harm upon another - he scarcely liked using the stunning spell.

"Now step aside or I will end you!" Alastair bellowed.

But the man did not step aside. "No." Was all he said.

"Fine! CRUCIO!" The man writhed on the floor screaming a shriek of pure agony. If Hugo thought before was horrifying, watching this man get tortured was like his soul was the one getting torn into.

"Wait. I agree." Hugo said in a calm voice. Alastair released the man who shook terrified on the floor.

"We should be on top. They're helpless against us. Why do we fear them? We should take advantage." Hugo said in as much of a heartless voice as he could manage. He had a plan, but it relied heavily on Alastair believing him. Hugo just hoped his Slytherin nature was enough to convince him.

All was silent for a moment before Alastair smiled. "Good, you finally realise."

"But I need proof you're as powerful as you say."

"How so?"

"If you can deflect every spell I hit you with, I'll believe you." Hugo hoped Alastair wouldn't realise the manipulation.

"Go ahead, try and strike me." Alastair said in the same arrogant tone he displayed in duelling.

Hugo retrieved his wand from his pocket. This plan may end up getting him evicted from Hogwarts but he certainly preferred that over the alternative.

"Stupefy, Engorgio, Nox, Defodio, Herbifors, Engorgio, Langlock, Periculum."

Green lightening arced around Alastair's body as he non-verbally deflected every spell. The muggles around Hugo looked shocked as they found out that he too had magical abilities. Hugo saw in his peripheral vision, one muggle still filming the whole scene as they crouched behind a pillar.

"Now that my magical abilities been established as vastly superior to your own, it's time we ended this silly charade."

"I wish to join you in your mission." Hugo blurted out.

"Please, I could have seen your bluff even if I was blind. You can only delay the inevitable for so long. So, enough games this ends now."

Alastair raised his wand giving Hugo view of his arm. It appeared weak and sickly as green energy pulsed through his veins.

Just then Hugo figured it out. It wasn't Alastair's power that could break through protective barriers or strike a ghost. It was the wand. The way it crackled with energy, the care Alastair took with it as Hugo disarmed him in his memory, it all made sense.

Remove the wand, remove the power.

"OBLIVIATE!"

"EXPELLIARMUS!"

Hugo's jet of scarlet energy met Alastair's beam of green electric energy in the middle of the platform spraying yellow light from the centre. With all of his willpower, Hugo tried to force the disarming spell upon Alastair. This would not only disarm Alastair of his wand but rebound the memory charm at Alastair.

But as much as it pained Hugo to admit, Alastair was right; he could only delay the inevitable for so long. The memory charm caught up to Hugo and penetrated his mind. Everything was blocked from ever being accessed again; his parents, his identity, Hogwarts and his friends.

Hugo was left a nonsensically rambling shell of a man on the floor of King's Cross Station.

 **Chapter 12**

Harry Apparated into the Ministry of Magic. He strolled through the large underground headquarters and entered one of the many brass elevators. He pressed the level 2 button which took him directly to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. He started towards his office at the end of the hallway.  
"Harry! There you are!" A young woman of no more than twenty ran over to Harry.

"Morning, Melinda. What's the issue?" Harry kindly replied. Being the head of the department gave him responsibility of all divisions and problems that may arise, no matter how small.

"Some kid just cast eight spells – hang on he just cast another. His name is Hugo Piers, fourth year Hufflepuff and he literally just got off the train from Hogwarts half an hour ago."

"Eight spells you say?"

"I know, most kids just cast maybe one floating jinx or something. This kid cast eight in, like, the span of ten seconds. We don't know what to do, do we send a howler, or do we send someone over? We were hoping you could tell us." This was the first time Melinda had appeared stressed at her job at the Improper Use of Magic Office.

"Ok, let me see the spells." Melinda handed over a sheet of paper that listed every spell he used. Harry looked at the spell list for some time. "It doesn't make sense, why would he cast Nox? And why Engorgio of all spells twice? Unless…"

Harry looked deeply at the list before his eyes went wide. "It's a code! The first eight spells make a message."

With that Harry Disapparated in front of Melinda's eyes.

Melinda suddenly saw the secret message spelt out by the first letter of each spell: 'send help'.

"What did you do to him?!" The muggle man named Trevor shouted in fury.

"Lost his memory I'm afraid." Trevor's torturer heartlessly replied.

"I don't care whether you were more powerful, he was innocent!" Trevor knew nothing about the power both of them wielded but he couldn't let this man go without answering for his crimes.

"A muggle caring about a wizard, most unusual. Let's see whether that holds after I'm done with you."

Trevor looked around for any help. Most had fled the station but those who stayed either lay unconscious on the ground or too terrified to move or do anything other than stare.

It was up to Trevor. He couldn't believe himself, minutes before he was cowering behind a pillar hoping he could hide until the dark wizard left.

But seeing the boy's courage, his willingness to put himself in danger to save people he had never met gave him hope. It inspired him to be greater, to be stronger.

He would not let the boy's sacrifice go unavenged.

Trevor suddenly broke into a charge directly at the man holding the glowing green wand. He took maybe two steps before he was violently thrown to the ground by the wizard's magic.

"Crucio." The man uttered once more.

The pain was so all-consuming that Trevor no longer knew where he was. Molten metal was being poured over every inch of his skin, his head pounded with such ferocity that it felt as if someone was driving a jackhammer directly to his forehead. He was screaming more loudly than he'd ever screamed in his life. There wasn't much more he thought a man could take, surely his heart would give up from trauma. But his torturer knew when to relent and released Trevor from his spell.

"Stay down for your own good."

Trevor lay helplessly on the ground, his body told him that he couldn't go through that pain again. But something in him called him to fight as he looked upon the rambling boy, foolishness maybe, perhaps it was stupidity, but it certainly was not selfishness.

He slowly rose up, standing defiantly before the man once more.

"Don't be stupid. When will you learn, no man, muggle or wizard can best me." The man raised his wand once more and Trevor prepared for another charge.

"I'd like to test that theory."

Trevor's attacker quickly turned around to find a man wearing glasses and a lightening bolt shaped scar on his forehead standing before him.

"Wha-no, how?!" Trevor sensed the fear in his torturer's voice. "OBLIVIATE!"

A green, wicked bolt of electric energy shot from his wand aimed directly at the middle-aged man. As casually as one picks up their keys in the morning, his wand flicked out and created an impenetrable barrier that deflected the spell.

"NO! That's impossible! Th-this wand cannot be beaten!" The man's voice audibly trembled now.

"I once fought a man who thought he could rely on a wand's power to defeat me. His name was Voldemort and was the most powerful dark wizard of all time. He didn't beat me then, what makes you think you can be beat now?" The man with the lightening scar smiled.

Trevor's assailant had his wand aimed at the man before he quickly turned around and broke into a run. Trevor was there, right behind him and crunched his fist as hard as he could against the man's face. He dropped on the ground, his nose twisted sideways and bleeding.

He had nowhere to run, nowhere to hide and out of desperation, tried firing on the man with glasses yet again.

"OBLIVIATE!"

"Expelliarmus." He casually countered.

The bright scarlet beam of pure energy met the corrupted arc of green energy in midair just like before. But this time, the memory charm didn't force its way to the other dueller.

The red beam quite easily slid its way to the opposite end. The insane man's wand flew through the air and the lightening scarred man caught it quite dextrously as if he had used this manoeuvre many times before.

Trevor's torturer fell to the ground once more and started rambling nonsensically as he got hit by his own spell.

"Thank you." Trevor gratefully told the man with the lightening scar.

"You're welcome. Harry by the way."

"Trevor. This kid got hit by a spell that removed his memory. Can you fix it?"

Harry shook his head regrettably, "I'm afraid I can't, the only way to restore memories is through extreme torture, every other method does nothing."

Trevor laid his hand gently upon the boy, a gesture of thanks. He felt something in the boy's jacket pocket. He removed it curiously and found it to be a large glass vial filled with this swirling liquid or gas – he was unsure what state the contents were.

Harry's eyes went wide and he smiled happily, "If that's what I think it is, there's hope yet!"

 **Chapter 13**

 _Twenty-two hours earlier_

Hugo grew tired of sitting around while Professor McOrison paced the room.

"Professor McOrison," the professor looked startled, as if he forgot Hugo was in the room. "I have a question about extracting memories."

Before Professor McOrison could answer, the doors to the office were shoved carelessly open. Professor Hawke had his hands on his knees as he panted at the doorway.

"We found him." He said through deep breaths, "We found Alastair."

Professor McOrison let out a deep breath, indicating that he was glad the ordeal was over. "And, what happened? Is he incapacitated?"

"Um… That's just it, professor… He's dead."

"What? How so?" McOrison looked as if he was unsure if he should be happy or sad.

"Suicide we think."

He sighed regrettably, "The guilt probably caught up to him. Where is he now?"

"Infirmary. We didn't know where else to put him. Don't worry, none of the students know yet."

"Ok, I'll be right there." McOrison ran his hand down his face while Professor Hawke exited the office. "From one problem to the next. Anyway, what is it you wanted?"

"I'm sure it can wait." Hugo replied.

"No, it's fine, there doesn't seem to be any immediate danger, go ahead. Ask away."

"Uh… well I was wondering whether or not it's possible to make a copy of all of one's memories?"

"Well… yes. But why?"

"Well, I was thinking, if my memory got erased, the memories that were extracted could be reinserted into my mind."

McOrison thought for a moment before he slowly nodded his head. "Yes, that could work. Do you want it done still? I mean, Alastair's dead."

After rewatching his memory in the pensieve and seeing how close he was to losing memory of everything - His parents, Hogwarts… Ella – he couldn't take that risk again.

"Yes."

"Ok." Professor McOrison extracted a copy of the memories carefully, forcing out a giant misty silver cloud from Hugo's head. He placed this in a large glass vial and handed it to Hugo.

"Here. For when the time arises."

Hugo groggily woke up to find Ella sitting by his bed holding his hand.

"What they hell is going on?" Hugo said legitimately confused.

"Merry Christmas! Welcome back, you might want to take it easy, you've been out for two weeks." Ella replied.

"Sorry – wait… two weeks?!" Hugo wasn't sure what happened, one minute he was in McOrison's office, the next he was in the hospital room of Hogwarts.

"Your mind needed time to reconstruct your memories in a manner that made sense."

"Memories? Wait…" Hugo looked on the bedside table and found an empty glass vial, "I got obliviated didn't I?"

"I'm afraid so, but Nurse Claremont was able to replace your memories with the ones extracted by McOrison. I don't normally say this, but that was very clever by the way." Hugo detected none of Ella's usual sarcasm.

"Careful, that almost seemed like an actual compliment."

"Phff, your mind must still be adjusting." Her sarcasm was back.

Hugo looked down and saw that she was still clasping his hand. "Did I miss anything?"

"I don't know, you're the one who had the adventure."

"Yeah, what happened?" Hugo didn't like the fact that someone attacked him and he didn't remember anything.

"Nobody knows, but it must have been pretty good because Harry Potter himself carried you into Hogwarts. You were pretty beaten up as well, your nose was broken, and you had bruises everywhere."

At the mention of the Harry's name, Hugo received a faint image as if he was remembering a past life. Harry was battling Alastair in King's Cross station while muggles looked on with fear.

"I suppose we'll never know then." Hugo said with regret.

"I doesn't matter, it's just good to have you back." Ella smiled affectionately. "Anyway, if we hurry we'll make the Christmas dinner."

"Wait, what about my parents?"

"McOrison contacted them and they said they were fine with you staying for the Christmas break. Now come on."

Ella removed her hand from his and gestured for him to follow. Hugo obliged and walked beside her as they made their way to the front of the Great Hall. Ella pushed open the oaken doors and stood at the entrance.

Hugo had never seen such a wonderful sight. The Great Hall was decorated with twelve towering Christmas trees, festoons of holly, mistletoe and other Christmas oriented accents hung across the Enchanted Ceiling. And from the Enchanted Ceiling itself, snow fell.

Ella placed her fingers in her mouth and let out a high-pitched whistle, gaining the attention of every student and teacher that sat excitedly at the House Tables.

"Everyone, Hugo has returned!" She directed her arms at Hugo, displaying him like an art piece.

All of Hufflepuff table immediately stood up cheering and applauding. Next the teachers and Gryffindor stood up then Ravenclaw and Slytherin.

Hugo had never witnessed a standing ovation at Hogwarts before, let alone for him. He made a humble bow and smiled gratefully at his fellow students while they continued to applaud. Ella gave a wide hopeful smile while she rapidly clapped at his return.

Her golden blonde hair was highlighted remarkably against the stark whiteness of the falling snow giving her a sense of beauty beyond her years. Looking upon her in this light, it evoked a sense of tranquility and peace he swore he had experienced before but couldn't place his finger on it.

Through his peripheral vision, Hugo noticed above them hung a lone mistletoe.

Hugo didn't know what it was, it was like his unconscious mind was telling him to seize the moment as a feeling so strong overcame his better judgement and he embraced Ella in a kiss.

For a moment, he felt regret and fear of embarrassment, but then she too melted into the embrace causing a greater cheer from the Great Hall to erupt.

Love, true love, is known as the most powerful magic known in the wizarding world. Wizards and Witches have spent years, centuries even, studying its effects, its powers and its applications. Any attempt to replicate its effects without a true source has been met with failure. But when love is witnessed authentically, it's capabilities are endless. It has the power to create or destroy, it can block any spell, and it can break any enchantment.

Hugo felt the memories wash over his body like water off a duck's back.

He reluctantly pulled out of the loving embrace and looked Ella in her ocean blue eyes. "Oh, do I have a story for you."

"Can't wait, let's go get some real food into you, you deserve it… Hufflepuff."

His mind suddenly flashed back to what Dumbledore told him: Help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who deserve it.

 **Epilogue**

Elise walked through King's Cross as she did every day. The past few weeks though, she felt something tugging at her as she passed the platform 5 sign. She would receive goosebumps and her hair would stand up on her arms. It gave her an uneasy sensation and she almost felt as if she should take another route to the train. But it would slip from her body as quickly as it came.

She hopped onto the train and took a seat.

As a way to occupy her fifteen-minute ride, she decided to muse over the Christmas photos she took yesterday on her phone. She smiled as she browsed the photos of the family.

But as she swiped back, she came across not a Christmas photo, but a video. Curious, she played it.

The tugging sensation came back to her as she started viewing the video. The feeling got worse as she kept watching and she gasped as she saw what the video contained. A teenager no more than 17 attacking another kid of 14 with what Elise could only call magic. It was horrible, she saw a man get tortured and the kid get reduced to bumbling mess on the ground before another man with a lightening scar appeared – teleported rather – who managed to subdue the attacker with magic of his own.

She did not remember taking the video nor did she remember anything of what occurred, but she undoubtedly heard her own soft sobs on the other side of the camera.

Elise had never believed in magic, nor had she any intention to do so, but something about this video told her that it wasn't fake. She hated it, she wanted to delete it and forget it ever happened. But that is not what she would do.

She would show the world and everyone would find out the truth.


End file.
